Jim Corbett National Park
Tourists flouting rules
and regulations
Dehradun, May 7
Uttarakhand,
that banks heavily on eco tourism for revenue, is even failing to
manage the flow of tourists in the Jim Corbett National Park.

Haridwar Mayor for clean, green
colonies
Haridwar, May 7
Mayor of the Haridwar Municipal
Corporation Manoj Garg has directed corporation officials to initiate a major
cleanliness drive in all colonies of 30 wards. Garg presided over his maiden
meeting with MC officials at his Mayapur office here today.

Haridwar Mayor Manoj Garg. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

New Mayor wants Roorkee to be model city
Haridwar, May 7
After achieving
a historic victory by winning as Independent candidate for the maiden
Roorkee municipal chairman's post and simultaneously winning a ward
councillor's seat, too, Yashpal Rana is quite upbeat to repay the
faith of the Roorkee voters reposed in him.

Online registration of food
licences
begins today
Dehradun, May 7
From tomorrow the State
Food Safety and Standard Authority (FSSA) Department will begin
accepting online registration of food licences in Dehradun, allowing
greater flexibility for the food business companies who would now be
able to apply for food licences from the comfort of their homes and
offices.

Jimmy in Doon to promote ''Rangeelay''
Dehradun, May 7
Jimmy Shergill, who has carved
for himself a place in the Punjabi cinema, was in Dehradun today to promote his
latest film ''Rangeelay.'' Playing the lead role opposite former Miss India
Neha Dhupia, the film is hoping to appeal to the audience outside Punjab. Directed by Navaniat Singh and presented by Eros International and Jimmy
Shergill production, the film will release on May 17.

Jimmy Shergill

A woman tries to protect her young child from the risng heat with her dupatta in Dehradun on Tuesday.
Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

ABVP meets Guv over fee hike
Dehradun, May 7
A delegation of the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), led by its Garhwal assistant
coordinator Anshul Chawla, met the Governor, Dr Aziz Qureshi, to
discuss problems related to the enhancement of fees by public schools
in every session.

Increase in power tariffs condemned
Dehradun, May 7
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD),
Communist Party of India (Marxist) and All India Consumers' Council
have opposed hike in electricity tariffs.

Residents oppose high tension wire
Dehradun,
May 7
Residents of DL Road opposed a new high tension (HT) being
installed in the area and demanded removal of another HT line crossing
over their houses.

Dehradun, May 7
Uttarakhand,
that banks heavily on eco tourism for revenue, is even failing to
manage the flow of tourists in the Jim Corbett National Park.

A
survey by the People for Animals, Uttarakhand chapter, to assess the
tourist wildlife scenario at the Corbett park, has revealed open
flouting of rules and regulations by tourists there.

Gauri Maulekhi,
member secretary, People for Animals, Uttarakhand, said a large number
of private vehicles were being allowed to enter the park and that too
without an entry in the register available at the gate. “As per the
prescribed limits, only 30 vehicles can enter the Bijrani zone, 25 in
the Jhirna zone, 11 in the Durga Devi area and 30 vehicles in the
Dhangarhi area. But the vehicles entering the park are much higher in
number than the prescribed limits,” she said. In a strong-worded
letter to the Director, Jim Corbett tiger reserve, Ramnagar, Ranjan
Mishra, Maulekhi expressed concern at a large number of tourists
entering the park in vehicles, creating commotion at the sight of wild
animals and, thereby, affecting the peaceful movement of the
animals.

She said the vehicles were often caught in a jam. While it
is mandatory for every vehicle to be accompanied by a nature guide,
tourists rarely hired guides and were never checked for such
transgressions. “There can be no possible excuse even for ‘VIP’
vehicles to enter the CTR without a registered nature guide,” she
added.

She said the CTR authorities had failed miserably to maintain
the rule of law at the park. The tourists ventured out of their
vehicles without hesitation even in the core zone and disturbed the
wildlife. “They are seen throwing polythene bags, empty bottles and
cigarette butts in the core zone. They are never penalised or checked
and such incidents always go unreported,” she said.

Since they are
not accompanied by nature guides, tourists often underestimate the
danger they put themselves and the wildlife at.

On the other hand,
Mishra said rules were being followed while allowing tourists in the
Corbett park. He added private vehicles were allowed only when they
carried the aged and children.

He, however, admitted that there was
no way to avoid entertaining VIPs.

Haridwar, May 7
Mayor of the Haridwar Municipal
Corporation Manoj Garg has directed corporation officials to initiate a major
cleanliness drive in all colonies of 30 wards.

Garg presided over his maiden
meeting with MC officials at his Mayapur office here today. He said the people
had reposed faith in him to see development and change in the city. “I am
committed to fulfilling their expectations,” he added.

The Mayor said the
city required a regular cleanliness drive and colonies, joggers’ tracks and
sidetracks on the Ganga canal also needed to be maintained properly.

Garg said
he visited a number of wards recently and found that a majority of the people
wanted cleanliness, sanitation and greenery in their colonies.

He directed
Chief Administrative Officer Jeevan Singh Nangiyal to deploy sanitation workers
in all colonies and monitor their work regularly.

He added that the people did
not want promises and assurances but groundwork, which was missing during the
tenure of the pervious civic body.

Garg also gave directions that Ganga ghats
in the periphery of the city should also be cleaned and renovated regularly so
that pilgrims, tourists and local people did not face problems while taking a
holy dip there.

The Mayor hinted that various committees would be constituted
soon.

These would comprise saints, social activists, ward representatives and
local residents.

Haridwar, May 7
After achieving
a historic victory by winning as Independent candidate for the maiden
Roorkee municipal chairman's post and simultaneously winning a ward
councillor's seat, too, Yashpal Rana is quite upbeat to repay the
faith of the Roorkee voters reposed in him.

In a chat with TNS
Yashpal Rana put forth his vision and development plans for Roorkee
city, which is regarded as education city.

The Roorkee Mayor is
focusing initially on the newly developed areas of the city where due
to haphazard development and due to lack of planning, civic facilities
are not in par with the old city area.

''These new residential
habitats have a major chunk of residents who are deprived of proper
civic amenities and a planned development map needs to be initiated
soon. Otherwise it will only aggravate the problems,'' said Rana who
claimed mayoral victory against odds by defeating both BJP and
Congress candidates.

Attributing his success to confidence of people
hailing from all segments of society and religion, Yashpal Rana
pointed that this was the reason that he won, irrespective of being an
Independent candidate. He said that both Congress and BJP resorted to
all wrong means, tried to lure voters by money, alcohol, false
assurances but eventually voters reposed faith in his commitment,
integrity, honesty and past works.

On illegal possession of
properties of Municipal Corporation, the Mayor said that he will make
sure that not a single property of civic body remains illegally
occupied.

''Illegal occupants will be shown the door, holding on to
civic body's properties or land. Be they from any political party,
background or even departmental officials, no one will be spared. The
corporation has limited resources and if such a trend carries on, then
how will we be able to change the working of the civic body and
structure?'' said Yashpal, who defeated BJP's Mahendra Arora in the
just held civic elections by 110 votes.

Rana has also a unique idea for
his tenure, regarding cleaning of nullahs in the colonies. For this he
wants to form nagrik safai samitis that will monitor cleaning of the
nullahs in the respective wards.

''Making the city as model city is
our vision. We want to restore back the lost glory of Roorkee as ideal
city, which is home to educational and Central Government institutes
and Army cantonment,''added Rana.

Notably, Roorkee municipality also
came into existence in 1868 when Haridwar civic body was formed.

Dehradun, May 7
From tomorrow the State
Food Safety and Standard Authority (FSSA) Department will begin
accepting online registration of food licences in Dehradun, allowing
greater flexibility for the food business companies who would now be
able to apply for food licences from the comfort of their homes and
offices.

According to the department officials, the food companies
would now be able to upload forms, submit them and also track the
status of their forms without having to make trips to the office of
FSSA.

Further, the online process that would be first started in
Dehradun district would also allow greater transparency, help the
department set up a data base that would make inspections easy.

The
department hopes to cover the entire state by the end of this year.

So far, in the country only states of Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra and
Uttar Pradesh have starting the online process of registration of
licences.

The National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) has
prepared the centralised software.

Upload, submit forms online

Department officials say the food companies would now be able to
upload forms, submit them and also track the status of their forms
without having to make trips to the office of FSSA.

Dehradun May 7
IPS officer
Satish Shukla is a police official with a difference.

IPS officer Satish Shukla

Despite his
hectic schedule as Additional Inspector General, he has maintained his
hobbies of writing articles and directing and acting in plays.

He
came up with his first book, compilation of 18 short stories titled as
''Aur Ladki Jeet Gayi,'' which was released by Governor Aziz Qureshi
yesterday in a gala function attended by all the top police officials
of the state.

While talking to The Tribune about his book, he
said:''The stories have been woven around real life incidents. The
names of the characters have been changed to shield the identities of
real persons connected. Few inputs have been added to enrich the
flavour. At the end, a paragraph is attached as the writer's take on
the message embedded in the story.''

He gave reference to some
stories from the book. For instance, the one ''Mishraine ka Jeth''
where a family member of a dead person embraces the latter just to
steal the thread attached with a key of coffer around the neck of the
body.

People thought the embrace as manifestation of his love for
the departed soul but it was actually the crass deterioration of human
relations and affection in the face of pure greed.

The title story is
based on the struggle of ''Brave Heart,'' a girl gang-raped in a
moving Delhi bus in December last year.

It describes the poignancy
of her ordeal and grit and emphasises on the need of proper
rehabilitation of such victims.

Shukla said the power in women is
intrinsic which must be understood deeply.

Shukla, who also served as
Indian Forest Officer, but before that, he began earning his living as
an auto-driver for 14 months at night in-order to arrange for fund for
his PHD in plant pathology.

He mentioned it at the back jacket of
his book. Coming from a family of toppers, he took to this humble mode
for a brief period, when his father retired from his service. His keen
observation of the deprived ones instilled sensitivity in him for
them, which was perceptible in his story ''Shaeni Ki Amma.''

He
said:'' I see a woman sitting near a very small hut made up of
polythene and trash and little opening to crawl inside on Rajpur road.
The lady is not leaving the space as she is waiting for her daughter,
who went missing long ago in childhood, to return. That one streak of
hope is making her withstand all the tribulations.''

He said he was
so much moved by the pathos associated with her life that he had
planned a full novel, hoping it to be titled as ''Shaeni Ki Vapsi'' by
then.

A novel on the subject of childhood is on the way.

He said
his childhood was an important juncture.

''A person is shaped up in
the childhood. To undo any of the attributions, he has to make painful
efforts.''

Shukla is also toying with the idea of converting his
stories into screenplay for theatrical adaptation.

His play''
Kishanpur Ke Sholay,''a spoof on superhit ''Sholay'' film where
several IPS officers of the state, including the then DGP acted, was a
thorough hit in the department.

Dehradun, May 7
Jimmy Shergill, who has carved
for himself a place in the Punjabi cinema, was in Dehradun today to promote his
latest film ''Rangeelay.'' Playing the lead role opposite former Miss India
Neha Dhupia, the film is hoping to appeal to the audience outside Punjab.

Directed by Navaniat Singh and presented by Eros International and Jimmy
Shergill production, the film will release on May 17.

“ We have visited
other northern states to promote our film with the hope that the film would
appeal to the Punjabi-speaking population settled outside Punjab,” said
Jimmy.

Though Jimmy Shergill began his career in the Hindi cinema way back in
1996 through the critically acclaimed film ''Machis,'' it is in the Punjabi
cinema that his career took off and he has given several hits in the last
couple of years.

Shergill credits Tigmanshu Dhulia for helping him shed his
lover boy image by giving him a powerful role in the film ''Haasil.''

''This
is the best phase of my career. I continue to do good films with the people who
have always supported me, and working with them gives me immense
satisfaction,” he said.

ABVP delegates give a memorandum of their demands to the Governor, Dr Aziz Qureshi, in Dehradun on Tuesday.

Dehradun, May 7
A delegation of the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), led by its Garhwal assistant
coordinator Anshul Chawla, met the Governor, Dr Aziz Qureshi, to
discuss problems related to the enhancement of fees by public schools
in every session.

It also alleged that the schools were violating the
RTE.

The Governor assured the delegates that, based on their
eight-point memorandum, he would direct the government to take action
in the matter.

Dehradun, May 7
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD),
Communist Party of India (Marxist) and All India Consumers' Council
have opposed hike in electricity tariffs.

General secretary, UKD,
Manmohan Singh Lakhera, has demanded a rollback of increase in
tariffs. He said:'' UPCL has been trying to shift the burden of its
failures on to the public. The losses of lakhs of units are imposed on
the public. The state government which has been raising the slogan of
'Energy state' did nothing to relieve people of the state but surely
added burden of increased tariffs year after year.''

District
secretary, CPM, Surender Singh Sanjwan, added that the tariff increase
would not only puncture holes in the pockets of the poor public but
would affect the cost of other basic products and services as well.
Hence the state government should withdraw this anti-people decision
at earliest.

President of All India Consumers' Council Brigadier KG
Behl (retired) demanded electricity at the rate at which it was
produced in the state.

He said:''It may be pointed out that some of
the hydroelectricity produced in the state is being supplied to other
adjoining states at the rate at which it is produced due to some
commitments made earlier.

Thus the domestic customers are being
denied the privilege of having cheaper electricity at which it is
produced in the state, whereas others continued to get the benefit.''
He further added: ''The proposed increase in tariff for domestic
consumers between 100 to 200 units by 0.10 paisa, between 201-400
units by 25 paisa and above 400 by 40 paisa is revolting. Since due to
the use of variety of electrical appliances in a normal family, the
rate of consumption goes more than 400 units in a month. So it is
likely to hit the budget.

Dehradun,
May 7
Residents of DL Road opposed a new high tension (HT) being
installed in the area and demanded removal of another HT line crossing
over their houses.

The residents demonstrated before the office of
Executive Engineer on EC Road today. They said the HT line is being
installed over such a road which is narrow and very busy. This has
shops and two-storey houses on both sides. The HT line will thus give
rise to accidents.

Dehradun, May 7
The third day of the 2nd All
India Asian Challenge Basketball Tournament,2013 witnessed
quarter-final matches and semi-final matches played at the Asian
School basketball court here today.

Players in action in a match in the 2nd All-India Asian Challenge Basketball Tournament played at The Asian Schol in Dehradun on Tuesday.
A Tribune photograph

Hilton School and Asian School
entered the final of the tournament.

In the first quarter-final
match, Aryan School trounced Sherwood College with a sleek margin of
46-42. The top scorer of Aryan School was Awejraj Sumargi with 17
points.

Sahil Gamal of Sherwood College netted 19 baskets. In the
2nd quarter final match Wynberg Allen prevailed against Pestle Weed
College scoring 59-51.

The top scorer of winning team was Tanuj Behl
with 16 baskets and Dauni of Pestle Weed College scoring 17 points for
his team. The semi-final matches were also battled on the same day in
the evening.

The first semi- final match was played between Hilton
School and Aryan School, where Shivam Solanki of Hilton School netted
10 baskets leading to the team's win, scoring 45-22 and reaching the
finals.

Sakdinon of Aryan School was the top scorer with 8 baskets.

The score of the match in the first quarter was 16-7, in the second
quarter 5-7, third quarter 14-2,and fourth quarter it was 10-6.

The
Asian School and Wynberg Allen School clashed against each other in
the second semi-final match.

The Asian School went into a scoring
spree netting 52 baskets against 30 baskets of Wynberg Allen School.
The top scorer of the winning team was Mudit Garg with 18 points.

Pui-A
waged a lone battle for Wynberg Allen School scoring 16 points but his
efforts could not stop the team from defeat.